Apparatus of memory array using FinFETs

ABSTRACT

A memory cell includes a FinFET select device and a memory element. In some embodiments a memory cell has a contact element coupled between a surface of the fin and the memory element.

RELATED APPLICATION INFORMATION

The present application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/734,069, filed on Apr. 11, 2007. U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/734,069 is hereby incorporated by referenceherein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The various embodiments described herein relate generally to apparatushaving memory cell arrays, and more particularly, to apparatus havingmemory cell arrays using FinFETs as select devices.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, with the increasing demand of high density of arrays ofnon-volatile memory (NVM) cells, e.g., phase change random accessmemories (PCRAM) and magnetic random access memories (MRAM), there is asignificant need to reduce the size of the select devices of the NVMcells. Additionally, the increasing demand of high density of logiccircuitries also causes the need to reduce the size of the switchingdevices of the logic circuitries.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a unit of a memory cell array having aFinFET with a pair of bit line contacts, in accordance with anembodiment of the application;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section view of the unit of the memory cell arrayshown in FIG. 1 through one of the bit line contacts of the FinFET, inaccordance with an embodiment of the application;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view of the unit of the memory cell arrayshown in FIG. 1 along a source line of the FinFET, in accordance with anembodiment of the application; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one unit of a memory cell array having aFinFET with a local interconnect, in accordance with another embodimentof the application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of example embodiments. It will be evident, however, toone skilled in the art that the embodiments of the invention may bepracticed without these specific details.

The term “FinFET” used in the following description denotes a type ofmulti-gate field effect transistor, i.e. MuGFET having a fin of materialthat functions as a channel for the transistor. The term “NVM” denotes anon-volatile memory. The term “PCRAM” denotes “a phase change randomaccess memory”. The term “MRAM” denotes “a magnetic random accessmemory”. The term “CBRAM” denotes “a conductive bridging random accessmemory”. The term “FeRAM” denotes “ferroelectric random access memory”.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a memory cell array showingtwo cells, each with a FinFET select device and having bit line contactsin accordance with an embodiment of the application.

In the embodiment, memory cell array 100 utilizes FinFET select devices.A portion of the memory cell array 100 includes: a memory element 20having two terminals, a fin 40 that is supported on an insulatingsurface of a substrate 10, and a contact element (bit line contact) 50couple between the memory element 20 a surface of the fin 40. Thecontact element 50 is coupled to one terminal of the memory element 20,and at least partially wraps around and contacts the surface of fin 40.In some embodiments, the wrapped contact contacts one or both sidewallsof fin 40. In some embodiments the wrapped contact is in contact withone or more sidewalls and the top surface of fin 40. In someembodiments, the wrapped contact contacts only the top surface of fin40.

In some embodiments, the memory element 20 is a non-volatile memory(NVM). In one embodiment, the memory element 20 is a phase change randomaccess memory (PCRAM). In some embodiments, the phase change randomaccess memory (PCRAM) comprises a chalcogenide memory material. Inanother embodiment, the memory element 20 is a magnetic random accessmemory (MRAM). In another embodiment, the memory element 20 is aconductive bridging random access memory (CBRAM). In another embodiment,the memory element 20 is a ferroelectric random access memory (FeRAM).In some embodiments, the resistance of the memory element 20 isprogrammed to be in either in a high resistance state or a lowresistance state. The memory element state may be detected via the bitline.

In some embodiments, the substrate 10 is made of silicon. In otherembodiments, the substrate 10 can be made of other semiconductormaterials, such as germanium, and gallium arsenide. In an embodiment,the substrate 10 may include an insulating layer, such as a BOX (BuriedOxide) structure. In further embodiments, the substrate 10 may includean SOI (Silicon On Insulator) structure. Further insulating layers maybe used in further embodiments, such as nitride, silicon nitride, ornitride with a double layer of oxide for example.

In some embodiments, the fin 40 is made of n or p-doped silicon. Inother embodiments, the fin 40 can be made of other semiconductormaterials, one or more of which is selected from a group ofsemiconductor materials consisting of germanium, silicon carbide,gallium arsenide, and indium phosphide. The fin 40 may be coated with athin conductive film 41 of silicide (referring to FIGS. 2 and 3), forexample, with a thickness of about 10 nm.

In some embodiments, the contact element 50 is made of tungsten. Inother embodiments, the contact element 50 is made of a conductorselected from a group consisting of one or more of tungsten, copper,silver, gold, aluminum, and their alloys. The contact element 50 can beproduced by using conventional etching process, for example, etching anopening (or a hole) to the top and at least partially down one or bothsides of the fin 40 to the insulating layer of the substrate. This holeor opening is then filled with tungsten (or other conductive material),thus forming the contact element 50, which at least partially wrapsaround the fin 40. The contact element in one embodiment need not becentered on the fin, but should contact at least a portion of the top ofthe fin 40 and at least partially down one side of the fin 40. Bettercontact may be obtained by contacting both sides of the fin 40 down tothe insulating layer of the substrate. In some embodiments, beforefilling the opening, a thin film of TiN is applied to the opening as aprotective layer. In other embodiments, a thin film of TaN is applied tothe opening as a protective layer.

In some embodiments, the fin 40 has a cross-section taken along itslength which is substantially in the shape of a rectangle. In otherembodiments, the cross-section of fin 40 is substantially in the shapeof a rectangle with rounded corners. In one embodiment, thecross-section of fin 40 is substantially in the shape of omega Ω. In anembodiment, the height to width ratio of the fin 40 is in the range ofabout 1:1 to 5:1. In an embodiment, the width of the fin isapproximately 20 nm. The height and width may be significantly varied,as may be the ratio to obtain transistors with different desiredcharacteristics. A larger height may provide a transistor capable ofdriving more current without requiring additional chip real estate.

Referring further to FIG. 1, in accordance with one embodiment, anapparatus is provided, which includes a plurality of memory cellsadjacent to each other and arranged above a surface of a substrate 10 ina two dimensional array extending in an x-direction and in a y-directionalong x and y axes. One unit 100 of the memory cells of the embodimentextending over the substrate 10 includes a pair of memory elements 20, asource line 30 positioned above, and in contact with, a source region ofa fin 40. FIG. 1 also shows a pair of fins 40 extending from theirsource region coupled to source line 30 to a drain region at the otherend of each fin, a pair of contact elements (i.e., bit line contacts)50, a gate line 60, and a pair of bit lines 70. Each memory element 20has two terminals, i.e., a top terminal and a bottom terminal.

In one embodiment, the source line 30 extends in the y-directionsupported by the insulating surface of the substrate 10. The pair offins 40 extend generally or substantially parallel in the x-directionabove the surface of the substrate 10, and are wrapped around by thesource line 30 on three sides. The contact elements 50 are arranged toat least partially wrap around a respective fin 40, and to support andelectrically contact the bottom terminals of a memory element 20respectively. The gate line 60 extends generally in the y-directionsupported by the insulating layer of the substrate 10. The gate lines 60wrap around respective fins 40 on three sides thereof, and arepositioned between a source line 30 and a contact element 50. The pairof bit lines 70 extend generally in the x-direction above, but not incontact with, the source line 30 and the gate line 60, and arerespectively coupled to the top terminal of respective memory elements20.

In some embodiments, the substrate 10, the source line 30, the pair ofcontact elements 50, the gate line 60, and the pair of fins 40 form afinFET, i.e., a dual-fin MuGFET, which can be used as a select device ofthe memory elements 20. Such a finFET can also be used as a switchingdevice in a logic circuit.

In some embodiments, the source line 30 is made of one or more metalsselected from the group of metals consisting of tungsten, copper,silver, gold, and aluminum. Other suitable metal or other materialconductors may also be used.

In some embodiments, the gate line 60 is made of polysilicon.

In some embodiments, the bit lines 70 are made of one or an alloy ofmetals selected from the group of metals consisting of tungsten, copper,silver, gold, and aluminum or others.

In some embodiments, the height to width ratio of each fin 40 is in arange of about 1:1 to about 5:1. In an embodiment, the width of each fin40 is in a range from about 10 nm to about 25 nm.

In some embodiments, the minimum cell size of each memory cell in amulti-cell array may be reduced. In some embodiments, the memory cellsin the multi-cell array are constructed in accordance with anarchitecture of no more than 32 nm. In some embodiments, the fin pitch,i.e., the y-axis spacing between adjacent fins, is about 100 nm. Forsuch embodiments, the bit line contact y-axis pitch is also 100 nm andthe diameter of the bit line contacts is about 40 nm. In such anembodiment, the gate, i.e. the word line, has a width of about 30 nm andis spaced about 40 nm from the bit line contact in one x-axislongitudinal direction along the fin axis and about 40 nm from thesource line contact in the other longitudinal direction along the finaxis. The common source line, which may be shared with an adjacent cell,has a width of about 20 nm, about 10 nm of which is assigned to eachcell. In such an embodiment, the total x-axis dimension of a singlecell, along the longitudinal axis of the fin is about 180 nm. The cellx-axis dimension is the sum of 10 nm for the assigned portion of thecommon source line width, plus 30 nm for the width of the gate or wordline and 80 nm for each of the 40 nm separations between the gate lineand the source line and bit line contacts respectively, plus about 40 nmfor the diameter of the bit line contact and an additional 20 nm whichis one-half of the spacing between adjacent bit line contacts along thelongitudinal axis of the fins. The area for a cell embodiment with theabove nominal dimensions is thus about 0.018 μm², which is the productof the x-axis dimension of about 180 nm and the y-axis dimension, or finpitch, of about 100 nm.

It will be realized that the embodiment discussed above is but oneembodiment of the invention and that other embodiments may havedifferent x-axis and y-axis dimensions and even may have some differencein the minimum cell area and that the dimensions discussed are used forexplanation rather than limitation. In some embodiments, the area of thememory cell is less than about 0.022 μm². In some embodiments, the areaof the memory cell is less than 0.020 um².

In cells where a conventional source line construction is used, thesource line is at least about 40 nm wide, about 20 nm of which areattributable to each cell. In such conventional constructions, separatelanding areas are required on the substrate to connect an end of thefins to the base of the bit line contacts. In those conventionalconstructions, a minimum pitch distance of about 140 nm is determined bythe sum of the length of the landing area in the y-axis direction,perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the fins, is about 90 nm plusan additional 50 nm to allow spacing between adjacent contact landingpads along the y-axis. In the x-axis, the cell dimension of suchconventional constructions is at least about 190 nm which is the sum ofthe width of the bit line contacts in the x-axis of at least about 40nm, the width of the gate or word line of 30 nm plus the two 40 nmseparations of the gate from the common source line and from the landingarea, 20 nm as one-half of the source line width of about 40 nm andabout 20 nm which is one-half of the separation of the bit line contactsbetween adjacent cells. With nominal minimum x and y axis dimensions of190 nm by 140 nm, the minimum dimension of a conventional cell is thusat least about 0.027 μm².

The minimum cell size of multi-cell embodiments with a reduced widthcommon source line and bit line contacts wrapped around a portion of thefins (0.018 μm²) is about one-third less than comparable cells withconventional source lines and bit line contacts with separate landingareas (0.027 μm²).

An alternative measure of the area reduction achieved using certainembodiments of the invention is by viewing the nominal cell areascalculated above as multiples of A², where A is about one-half of thefin pitch of the architecture upon which they are based. In someembodiments, a multiplier of 10.8 is used for the 0.027 μm² areaconventional cell discussed above for a 50 nm metal half pitch featuresize. In the embodiment of the invention discussed above, a multiplierof 7.2 is used for the 0.018 μm² area of a metal half pitch embodimentdiscussed. In some embodiments, the cell size is less than 9A², where Ais one-half the fin pitch of the memory cell. In some embodiments, thecell size is less than 8A²

A still further alternative measure of the area reduction achieved usingcertain embodiments of the invention is by viewing the nominal cellareas calculated above as multiples of B², the square of the definingfeature size of the architecture upon which they are based. In someembodiments, a multiplier of 26.4 is used for the 0.027 μm² areaconventional cell discussed above for a nominal 32 nm feature size,based upon the printed gate length, i.e. its actual width along thelongitudinal axis of the fin transistor fin. In the embodiment of theinvention discussed above, a multiplier of 17.6 is used for the 0.018μm² area 32 nm architecture embodiment discussed above. In some otherembodiments, the cell size of said memory cell is less than 22B², whereB is the printed gate length of the finFET. In some embodiments the cellsize is less than 20B². In some embodiments, the cell size is less than18B².

FIG. 2 is a cross-section view of the unit of the memory cell arrayshown in FIG. 1 through one of the bit line contacts of the FinFET alongsection lines 2′-2′.

In some embodiments, a layer of BPSG (borophosphosilicate glass) 80, asa layer of insulator, is formed to fill the space between the sourceline 30, the pair of fins 40, the contact elements 50, and the gate line60. In some embodiments, the height of the layer of BPSG 80 is at leastas high as the highest one of the source line 30, the gate line 60, andthe pair of elements 50.

In some embodiments, a layer of silicon dioxide SiO₂, 90 is formed tofill the space above the top surface of the layer of BPSG 80, betweenthe source line 30, the gate line 60, bit lines 70, and the memoryelements 20.

In some embodiments, each fin 40 is coated with a thin conductive film41. In an embodiment, the thin film 41 is a thin conductive film ofsilicide.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, each contact element 50 has aprotective layer 51 covering each contact element 50. In an embodiment,the layer 51 is TiN.

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view of the unit of the memory cell arrayshown in FIG. 1 along a source line 30 of the FinFET, taken alongsection lines 3′-3′.

In some embodiments, a layer of silicon oxide (SiO2) 90 is formed tofill the space above the top surface of the layer of borophosphosilicateglass (BPSG) 80, between the source line 30, the gate line 60, bit lines70, and the memory elements 100.

In some embodiments, each fin 40 is coated with a thin film 41. In anembodiment, the thin film 41 is a thin conductive film of silicide.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one unit of a memory cell array having aFinFET with a local interconnect, in accordance with another embodimentof the application. In accordance with the embodiment, an apparatus isprovided, which includes a plurality of memory cells adjacent to eachother and arranged above a surface of a substrate 10 in a twodimensional array extending generally in an x-direction and ay-direction. One unit 200 of the memory cells of the embodimentextending over the substrate 10 includes a memory element 20, a sourceline 30, a pair of fins 40, a local interconnect 53, a gate line 60, abit line 70. The memory element 20 has two terminals, i.e., a topterminal and a bottom terminal.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the source line 30 extends generally in they-direction supported by an insulating layer on the surface of thesubstrate 10. The pair of fins 40 extend generally in the x-directionsupported by an insulating layer on the surface of the substrate 10, andthe source line 30 wraps around them on three sides. The localinterconnect 53 is formed supported by an insulating layer on thesurface of the substrate 10, wraps around the pair of fins 40, andsupports and contacts the bottom terminal of the memory element 20. Inone embodiment, the memory element 20 is positioned on the interconnect53 between the fins, but the location on the interconnect 53 may bevaried along the interconnect 53 as desired. Locating it between thefins may provide for more efficient utilization of chip real estate.

The gate line 60 extends generally in the y-direction above the surfaceof the substrate 10, wraps around the pair of fins 40 on three sidesthereof, and is positioned between the source line 30 and the localinterconnect 53. The bit line 70 extends generally in the x-directionabove, but not in contact with, the source line 30 and the gate line 60,and is coupled to the top terminal of the memory element 20.

In the embodiment, the substrate 10, the source line 30, the localinterconnect 53, the gate line 60, and the pair of fins 40 form a finFET(a dual-fin MuGFET), which can be used as a select device of the memoryelement 20. Such a finFET can also be used as a switching device in alogic circuit. A dual-fin MuGFET may be used to drive larger currents.

In some embodiments, the source line 30 is made of one or more metalsselected from the group consisting of tungsten, copper, silver, gold,aluminum, and their alloys.

In some embodiments, the gate line 60 is made of polysilicon.

In some embodiments, the bit lines 70 is made of a metal, which can bemade of one or more conductors selected from the group consisting oftungsten, copper, silver, gold and aluminum, and their alloys.

In accordance with the embodiments, the length of the fin and the bitline, and the length of the source line and the gate line may be reducedas a result of the use of wrap around contacts in place of separatelyformed contact pads. FinFET select devices, and the apparatus havingmemory cell arrays that have integrated or embedded FinFETs as selectdevices in accordance with the embodiments of the application may reducearea requirements.

The accompanying drawings that form a part hereof show by way ofillustration, and not of limitation, specific embodiments in which thesubject matter may be practiced. The embodiments illustrated aredescribed in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art topractice the teachings disclosed herein. Other embodiments may beutilized and derived therefrom, such that structural and logicalsubstitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scopeof this disclosure. This Detailed Description, therefore, is not to betaken in a limiting sense, and the scope of various embodiments isdefined only by the appended claims, along with the full range ofequivalents to which such claims are entitled.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement calculated toachieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodimentsshown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all adaptations orvariations of various embodiments. Combinations of the aboveembodiments, and other embodiments not specifically described herein,will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the abovedescription.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R.§1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quicklyascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted withthe understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit thescope or meaning of the claims.

1. A memory device, comprising: a FinFET select device having a fin; anda memory element, wherein the FinFET select device has a contact elementcoupled between a surface of the fin and the memory element, saidcontact element being in direct contact with a source/drain region ofthe fin.
 2. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the contact elementpartially wraps around the fin.
 3. The memory device of claim 1, whereinthe contact element is an embedded memory element.
 4. The memory deviceof claim 1, wherein the memory element is a NVM.
 5. The memory device ofclaim 4, wherein the memory element is selected from a group of memoryelements consisting of PCRAM, MRAM, CBRAM, and FeRAM.
 6. The memorydevice of claim 1, wherein said FinFET further comprises a gate linecoupled to the fin.
 7. The memory device of claim 1, wherein saidcontact element is in direct contact with a top surface of the fin. 8.The memory device of claim 1, wherein said contact element comprises aconductor material.
 9. A memory device, comprising: a FinFET selectdevice having a fin; and a memory element, wherein the FinFET selectdevice has a contact element coupled between a surface of the fin andthe memory element, said contact element being in direct contact with adrain region of said fin.
 10. The memory device of claim 9, wherein thecontact element partially wraps around the fin.
 11. The memory device ofclaim 9, wherein the contact element is an embedded memory element. 12.The memory device of claim 9, wherein the memory element is a NVM. 13.The memory device of claim 9, wherein the memory element is selectedfrom a group of memory elements consisting of PCRAM, MRAM, CBRAM, andFeRAM.
 14. The memory device of claim 9, wherein the memory element isin direct contact with a top surface of said fin.
 15. The memory deviceof claim 9, wherein the contact element comprises a conductor material.16. The memory element of claim 9, wherein said memory element iscoupled between the contact element and a bit line.